Skechers in freefall

How else do you describe a 22.4 percent plunge in its stock price? That follows a comparatively mild 5.2 percent drop on Tuesday, after the Manhattan Beach-based shoe company reported a 15 percent drop in second-quarter earnings. So in rough numbers we're talking about a current share price of $22, compared with around $30 just a few days ago. Wowser! As usual with Skechers, explanations are vague: an increase in marketing costs for the launch of Cali Gear, increased warehousing, distribution and personnel costs, and the acceleration of new store growth. Oh. It would be nice to have a fuller explanation, but when the Greenberg family controls 71 percent of the voting power through its Class B shares, the deck is kind of stacked. By the way, you do know that insiders, mainly the Greenbergs, have sold $23.3 million of stock this year. (NY Post, AP)